GoldenKnight wrote:Dwight took his team to the NBA Finals OVER LeBron James & the Cavs in 09 closing them out on a 40pt 14reb game & was 3 wins away from winning an NBA title, why is Dwight being or not being a 1st option even a question?

Because Kobe right now is clearly the better player.

Maybe he should share the spotlight and stop shooting so much to give Dwight confidence, this is in no way Kobe-Shaq type of ball, and it should be...

Except that's not how it works.. Shaq converted on his touches enough that he commanded the ball.. Sure you could put him at the line too, but he was much better than Dwight is right now at finishing after the foul. So you had the risk of him powering through the defender to get the 2 points at a minimum.. Dwight doesn't have close to all of his strength & explosiveness, & even when he did he couldn't finish after contact like Shaq. Not to mention Shaq is one of the best ever passing out of the post. Believe me if Dwight was having anything resembling Shaq's impact out there, he'd be getting the ball as much or more than Kobe.

As mentioned in another post, high scoring from Kobe is not a solution for Lakers. Have to let D12 to dominate like he did in Magic. Especially in first 3 quarters. Even with bad FT shooting, we have to trust him and let him get opponents in foul trouble. And it's for long term, especially for playoffs. We have build up D12's confidence.

they have to find the right role for dwight here. posting up in iso situations is a mess mainly because defenders laugh at ron artest and duhon on the perimeter and if morris is out there they start ROFL.

essentially dwight isn't going to be effective in an iso post because he's not hakeem and our spacing is laughable at best. our most respected shooter out there is kobe an he's streaky as the next guy.

they have to get dwight moving. that's the best option until nash gets back and we have more respect out there.

"You know why we can play well together? Kobe knows how hard I work and that I'm all about championships. We're also entertainers, and for the two hours and 20 minutes that people come to a game they want to be entertained."Via T.J. Simers/Los Angeles Times

Go to RealGM & you'll see how they can twis this to mean he's signing witht he Hawks

"People don't know what I'm doing behind the scenes to get better," he says. "They think I'm just a screw-up. But because I smile doesn't mean I want to win any less than Kobe, who might not smile." Los Angeles Times

He thinks about things all the time. He recently shut down his personality when quizzed by an Orlando reporter he believes betrayed him earlier. As tough as he wants to be, he has to overcome his own sensitivity, challenging himself on the ride home for how he handled the reporter. "People don't know how hurt I've been, and sometimes I allow it to show," he says. Los Angeles Times

"People don't understand," he says. "Yeah, I'm this big guy, but I also have a big heart. All I wanted to do was put Orlando on the map, but then I see all this stuff being written; I had to stop reading Twitter and doing Facebook. It was bad for my soul. "I told a friend I was going to come back this year and not fool with anybody, stay to myself and not do anything else. But who am I kidding? That's not me." Los Angeles Times

When Steve Nash offers to give you pointers, and you say you've got to make it work your way it becomes pretty clear to me that that is what you want...to make it work YOUR WAY. Even if your way sucks.

some games he looks like Dwight and others not. he's obv not 100% but there are flashes. if its true he wasn't supposed to play until jan then it's amazing progress so far. hope the Dwight who plays like he's not injured is there tonight we need him

they are if either one can get CP3 on board 1st....cp3 is also sounding as non-commital as can be about the Clippers. He always dodges the question when asked if he would stay with the clipps and he doesn't do so with the financial part excuse.

they are if either one can get CP3 on board 1st....cp3 is also sounding as non-commital as can be about the Clippers. He always dodges the question when asked if he would stay with the clipps and he doesn't do so with the financial part excuse.

This assumes that Dwight's thoughts are on championships and winning at the expense of a year at Max pay. That is a lot of "lettuce" we can offer that another team can't.

Most of his decisions made to this point about his long term location have been made with his brain trust of financial advisors and endorsers..... no reason to think that will change because Cuban can get CP3 in a far smaller market than LA. Now if somehow Brooklyn can get back in the picture we may see some possibility but my guess is that he is here for a while. The bigger issue we will have is how do we surround him with the appropriate team when this one is gone in 2 years?....

"If the past sits in judgment on the present, the future will be lost." Winston Churchill

“The prospect of domination of the nation's scholars by Federal employment, project allocations, and the power of money is ever present - and is gravely to be regarded."Dwight Eisenhower

"Socialism in general has a record of failure so blatant that only an intellectual could ignore or evade it"Thomas Sowell

The Lakers center wanted to remind everybody he was still not 100 percent.

"I wasn't even supposed to be playing until January and I'm playing now. What do you expect?" he said after the Lakers' shoot-around Thursday afternoon. They play the New York Knicks tonight.

Howard has been criticized because of his inaccurate free-throw shooting and also for some subpar games on offense, most recently a 3-for-9 shooting effort Tuesday in the Lakers' 100-94 loss to Cleveland.

Howard reminded people who "expected me to be high-flying" that he had back surgery last April to repair a herniated disk.

"I'm not in terrific shape," he said. "I'm still working through that. I have a long way to go. Only thing I can do is continue to play as hard as I can."

Meanwhile, the Lakers will be without Pau Gasol a sixth consecutive game because of knee tendinitis. They are 1-4 without him and searching for answers.

Two Lakers greats — Kobe Bryant and Magic Johnson — even had a recent phone conversation, Bryant revealed Thursday. The presumed topic: what to do with the Lakers, who are 9-13 overall, 2-7 on the road.

Johnson has been a vocal critic of Lakers coach Mike D'Antoni's push-the-pace offense. Johnson also wants D'Antoni to create more activity for Gasol near the basket.

they are if either one can get CP3 on board 1st....cp3 is also sounding as non-commital as can be about the Clippers. He always dodges the question when asked if he would stay with the clipps and he doesn't do so with the financial part excuse.

they are if either one can get CP3 on board 1st....cp3 is also sounding as non-commital as can be about the Clippers. He always dodges the question when asked if he would stay with the clipps and he doesn't do so with the financial part excuse.

Why would Chris Paul leave the Clippers? He has no reason to.

there's plenty of reason, you just think there aren't any, same goes for Howard, he probably has even more reasons to leave

Last edited by khmrP on Thu Dec 13, 2012 2:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.

therealdeal wrote:Damn. Here I was thinking that Dwight was almost 100% and he's talking about still not being there.

Crazy. I wonder when/if he'll ever feel like he's "there" again.

well its only been 3 months since he started even running again. it takes players a full year to get back to themselves after knee surgery. so it's not out there to think he's not gonna be there for at least something around that time

however i said earlier i don't think he ever gets back to 100% this season. Until he has a full offseason to lift and do his stamina training i don't think he'll be 100%. he may get close but he needs that offseason

Call me optimistic, but to me, "Dwight is leaving if we don't start winning soon" is just a buzz-y headline that ESPN likes to push.

Seriously, is Dwight turning down...-$25mil, -Sunny Los Angeles -and the Lakers organization ...just because the best franchise in basketball didn't figure it out for a year?

I think it's plausible if we get bounced out of the 1st round. But until we actually cross that bridge, I'm not thinking about it. I don't think the Lakers, Mitch or Dwight are thinking about it either.

There are two teams that play in the Staples Center:the LA Lakers and NBA Clippers.